State seeks corporate partners to boost parks

Updated 1:57 pm, Thursday, July 26, 2012

Photo: Texas Parks And Wildlife Dept.

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A family enjoys the outdoors at Palmetto State Park in Gonzales. As the drought has eased, Texas state parks have seen increases in visitors and the crucial revenue they provide. Now, the park system has embarked on a new course - partnering with private companies to help the bottom line. less

A family enjoys the outdoors at Palmetto State Park in Gonzales. As the drought has eased, Texas state parks have seen increases in visitors and the crucial revenue they provide. Now, the park system has ... more

Photo: Texas Parks And Wildlife Dept.

State seeks corporate partners to boost parks

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In a first for the state, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking corporate partners to use the agency's well-known logo and brand in exchange for hard currency, the agency announced this week.

The move provides a much-needed revenue stream as the department grapples with major budget cuts coupled with devastating droughts and wildfires.

While other state park agencies have dabbled with similar ideas or struck corporate sponsorships deals for specific projects, industry officials believe this would be the first time a department that oversees a state's natural resources actively seeks contract-based partnerships.

Given today's tough financial times, it's a move in the right direction, said an official at TPWD.

"It's a very good thing. This is groundbreaking," said Darcy Bontempo, marketing director at the state parks and wildlife department. "This give us an opportunity to leverage the strengths that the private industry can bring to help us to carry out our mission of preserving state parks and the outdoor lifestyle. There's a total flexibility for private companies to come in and say, 'Here's how we think we can help.' "

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, responsible for overseeing and maintaining more than 90 state parks, as well as issuing hunting and fishing licenses, had its budget cut by $114 million or 17.6 percent in the biannual 2010-12 budget, Bontempo said. Concurrently, a historic drought parched the state and massive wildfires destroyed thousands of acres of parkland, further sapping revenue.

But when the Legislature cut the department's budget, it also passed a bill allowing the agency for the first time to strike partnerships with corporations. Until now, Bontempo said, corporations donated to or made small, targeted deals with the agency's nonprofit foundation.

Bontempo envisions something far broader. For example, a bank could offer customers a credit card, a cooler could be branded with the TPWD logo or a hotel could become an official hotel, possibly offering discounts to visitors - and all would give a certain percentage to the agency.

"There are lots of opportunities to do joint promotions, license brands and create new ways to connect businesses to state parks to help their bottom line," she said. "It's going to be different, depending on which business partners approach us. It will be a learning experience and will evolve as we learn each others' business."

The TPWD's request for proposals targets 10 business areas from banks and insurance companies to hotels and cellphones. Any corporate partner will have to give a minimum of $100,000 to use the agency's brand and logo. From there, each deal will differ, Bontempo said. If the agency strikes a deal with one business in each category, it will bring in $1 million.

"We'd be very happy about that," Bontempo said.

Phil McKneelly, executive director of the National Association of State Park Directors, sees the idea as a win-win scenario for state parks nationwide, and their business partners.

"I think it's good to try different things and see how they will work," he said. "I frankly will be a bit surprised if there's one corporation (partner) for all 50 states. If it works out, those states that go first are the most likely to get help. That (idea) may be more attractive for corporate sponsors in larger states versus smaller states.

"The bigger the state," he said, "the bigger the bang."

Bontempo, of TPWD, said the agency sent out requests for proposals this week, with an Aug. 30 deadline for businesses to respond.

"We'll be looking at those responses and hopefully there are many companies in Texas that could really benefit from a long-term partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife (Department). "This would allow them to reach millions of people who visit the parks to hunt, fish and enjoy nature tourism."

As an incentive, partnering companies also will enjoy a presence on the agency's website - www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ - that reaches 10 million visitors each year, she said.